Anti-tumor t cell immunity induced by high dose radiation

ABSTRACT

Cancer treatment is provided, by irradiating an individual with a localized, high single dose or short course of doses at a primary tumor site; collecting T cells from the individual after a period of time sufficient activation of an anti-tumor response; treating the individual with an effective dose of dose of chemotherapy; and reintroducing the T cell population back to the individual.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims benefit and is a Continuation of applicationSer. No. 14/750,769 filed Jun. 25, 2015, which is a Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 13/969,376 filed Aug. 16, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.9,114,157 issued on Aug. 25, 2015, which claims benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/695,160, filed Aug. 30, 2012,which patent/applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cancer, also known as malignant neoplasm, is characterized by anabnormal growth of cells that display uncontrolled cell division,invasion and destruction of adjacent tissues, and sometimes metastasisto other locations in the body. There are more than 100 types of cancer,including breast cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer,prostate cancer, and lymphoma. Cancer is the second leading cause ofdeath in America and it causes about 13% of all deaths. Cancer mayaffect people at all ages, even fetuses, but the risk for most types ofcancer increases with age. Cancers can affect all animals.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) utilizes a three-dimensionalcoordinate system to achieve accurate radiation delivery. With SBRT, theradiation planning margins accounting for set-up uncertainty areminimized. This allows for greater dose-volume sparing of thesurrounding normal tissues, which enables the delivery of higher andfewer fractional doses of radiation (hypofractionation). With SBRT,discrete tumors are treated with the primary goal of maximizing localcontrol (akin to surgical resection) and minimizing toxicity. SBRT maybe defined as a radiation planning and delivery technique in which athree-dimensional orientation system is used to improve targetingaccuracy, typically as a hypofractionated (1-5 fractions) regimen.

Despite these new agents and improved combinations, the currenttreatment is still not effective for many types of cancers or cancers atdifferent stages. Improved regimens and treatments are greatly neededfor cancer therapy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods are provided for the treatment of cancer in an individual. Themethods of the invention provide for an initial localized, high singledose or short courses of high doses of radiation at a tumor site of theindividual; collection of T cells from the individual after a period oftime sufficient activation of an anti-tumor response, for example fromabout 2 weeks to about 5 weeks; a dose of chemotherapy, which may be aconventional or a myeloablative dose; followed by reinfusion of the Tcell population back to the individual. The methods of the invention canprovide for a durable complete remission of a primary tumor. The methodsof the invention can also prevent the growth of tumor metastases at asite other than the site of radiation.

In some embodiments the cancer is a solid tumor, which may be inadvanced state, up to and including a metastatic state. Tumors ofinterest include those with at least one tumor at a body location thatare amenable to focused high dose radiation, including withoutlimitation cancers of the liver, lung, brain, pancreas, melanoma,breast, and the like.

T cells are typically collected from blood samples, e.g. by apheresis.The cells are optionally subjected to a selection process followingcollection, e.g. to select for T cells, to purge tumor cells, etc. Thecells may be stored or cultured after collection, e.g. by freezing etc.,as known in the art.

In the treatment of individuals Where the chemotherapy is a myoablativechemotherapy, the collection and reinfusion of cells may furthercomprise collection and reinfusion of hematopoietic stem cells inaddition to T cells, for example utilizing mobilized peripheral blood asa source of cells. Alternatively the activated T cells are combined withhematopoietic stem cells, which may be autologous, or may be from anallogeneic donor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is best understood from the following detailed descriptionwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The patent orapplication file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copiesof this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s)will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessaryfee. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the variousfeatures of the drawings are not to-scale. On the contrary, thedimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reducedfor clarity. Included in the drawings are the following figures.

FIGS. 1A-1C. Treatment of advanced CT26 tumors by high dose radiationleads to complete remission, and development of systemic long-termimmunity that can be adoptively transferred by T cells. FIG. 1A,Experimental scheme. Advanced CT26 colon tumors were established for 21days subcutaneously and mice received a single dose of local tumorirradiation (LTI). Tumor growth curves after single doses of irradiation15, 20 and 30 Gy, or without radiation, or with 10 doses of 3 Gy dailyare shown as well as fraction of cured mice and survival. There weresignificant differences in survival in groups with untreated tumors vstumors treated with 15 Gy (p<0.05) or 10×3 Gy or in groups treated with30 Gy vs 15 Gy (p<0.05) or 30 Gy vs 10×3 Gy (p<0.05) by Mantel-Cox test.FIG. 1B, Experimental scheme. Mice with 21 day tumors were selected forthose with complete remissions after 30 Gy of LTI (n=12). As controls, agroup of normal mice was vaccinated subcutaneously (s.c.) with 1×10⁶irradiated tumor cells (50 Gy in vitro) and 30 μg CpG (n=10). Vaccinatedor irradiated mice were challenged with 5×10⁶ of CT26 cellssubcutaneously 100-150 days after treatment. Tumor growth curves,fraction of protected mice and survival are shown. There weresignificant differences in survival of vaccinated or untreated vsirradiated mice (p<0.05). FIG. 1C, Experimental scheme. T cells (6×10⁶)and T cell depleted (TCD) bone marrow cells (1×10⁷) were harvested frommice that were cured by 30 Gy for at least 100 days, and transferredinto syngeneic tumor-bearing mice (7 day tumors) conditioned with 8 Gyof total body irradiation (TBI). T cells and TCD bone marrow transferfrom untreated mice served as controls. Survival for 100 days is shown.There was a significant difference in survival between groups withoutthe transplant procedure vs with transplants from LTI donors (p<0.05),but not with transplants from naïve mice (p>0.1).

FIGS. 2A-2E. Kinetics of LTI induced resistance to tumor challenge,abrogation of remissions in T cell deficient hosts, and restoration ofremissions after T cell injection. FIG. 2A, Primary CT26 tumors wereestablished at day 0. Tumor-bearing animals were challenged with 5×10⁶CT26 cells on the opposite flank at day 21. Growth curves of the secondtumor and fraction of mice with progressive second tumor growth areshown (n=5). FIG. 2B, 30 Gy LTI to primary tumor was given at day 21,and mice were challenged with 5×10⁶ of CT26 cells on the opposite flankat days 21 or 51 after primary tumor implantation. There was asignificant difference in the fraction without tumor growth in groupswith LTI challenged at day 21 vs 51 (p<0.05 by Chi Square test). FIG.2C, Wild-type animals with 21 day CT26 tumors received 30 Gy LTI andanti-CD8 or CD4 depleting antibodies or ATS. There were significantdifferences in survival between groups given LTI alone vs LTI+CD8depletion (p<0.001) or vs LTI+CD4 depletion (p<0.01), or vs ATS(p<0.001) or no treatment (p<0.001). FIG. 2D, Tumor-bearing BALB/CRAG2^(−/−) mice received 30 Gy LTI alone on day 21, or LTI+6×10⁶ BALB/csplenic T cells on day 23 with or without CY injection (500 mg/kg i.p.immediately after LTI). Survival of tumor bearing animals is shown.There were significant differences in survival between groups given LTIalone vs LTI+CY+T cells (p<0.001) or groups given LTI+T cells vs LTI+Tcells+CY (p<0.05) or LTI+CY without T cells vs LTI+CY+T cells (p<0.01).FIG. 2E, Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) of CT26 luc⁺ bearing RAG2^(−/−)mice given 30 Gy LTI on day 21+CY (500 mg/kg i.p. just after LTI), orLTI+CY+6×10⁶ BALB/c splenic T cells (d 23). Empty boxes indicate deathof mice.

FIGS. 3A-3C. Comparison of infiltrating mononuclear cells in tumors, andin spleens of mice with or without tumors. FIG. 3A, Tumor-infiltratingcells and splenocytes were analyzed at day 21 after CT26 tumorimplantation for expression of CD25, PD-1 and Tim-3 on CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ Tcells, and for MDSCs (Mac-1⁺ Gr1⁻) and TAMs (Mac-1⁺ Gr1⁻). Percentagesof each subset in boxes on representative two color analysis panels areshown, and arrows identify gated subsets. Staining for Mac-1, Gr-1, CD4and CD8 used monuclear gate. FIG. 3B, Cell subsets (CD8⁺, CD4⁺,Mac-1⁺Gr-1⁺ and Mac-1⁺Gr-1⁻) are shown as a mean percentage+/−SE amongmononuclear cells in tumor and spleens at day 21 after tumorimplantation, and mean percentage of “exhausted” Tim-3⁺ PD-1⁺ cellsshown among total CD8⁺ T cells. FIG. 3C, Mean percentage of T reg cellsand expression of PD-1⁺ on Treg cells in tumors and spleens are shown.N=5. *−p<0.05, **−p<0.01,***−P<0.001, NS p>0.05.

FIGS. 4A-4E. Single dose of 30 Gy LTI changes the balance of tumorinfiltrating cells to favor CD8⁺ T cells, and to reduce MDSC, TAMs and Tregs. FIG. 4A, Mice with advanced 21 day tumors received a single doseof LTI (30 Gy) or fractionated daily doses LTI (3 Gy×10). Single cellsuspensions were prepared from tumors 14 days after LTI completion.Control tumor-bearing mice received no LTI and cells were analyzed atday 35. Representative stainings of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, MDSCs andTAMs are shown as well as the expression of PD-1 and Tim-3. FIG. 4B,Mean percentages+/−SE of tumor-infiltrating cells in mononuclear cellgate are shown. FIG. 4C, Mean percentage of Tim-3⁺PD-1⁺ cells amongtumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. FIG. 4D, Mean percentage ofCD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ cells among mononuclear cells and mean percentage ofPD-1⁺ cells among CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ cells. FIG. 4E, CD8/MDSC, CD8/TAM andCD8/Treg ratio in tumors in untreated animals, and animals that receivedLTI (30 Gy) or fractionated LTI (3 Gy×10). Mean ratios+/−SE are shown.*−p<0.05, **−p<0.01,***−P<0.001, NS p>0.05.

FIG. 5A-5F. T cell therapy facilitates complete remissions of 4T1 breasttumor metastases when used in combination with radiotherapy andchemotherapy. FIG. 5A, Survival of mice given subcutaneous injections of1×10⁴ of 4T1 wild-type tumor cells and 4T1 luc⁺ tumor cells compared tosurvival of 4T1 WT or 4T1 luc⁺ bearing mice given 60 Gy (3 daily dosesof 20 Gy each) LTI on days 14,15,16. FIG. 5B, Bioluminescence imaging(BLI) of mice at serial time points after injection of 4T1 luc⁺ tumorcells. Note signals above diaphragm at days 21 and 28. FIG. 5C,Representative tissue section (H&E, × magnification) of lung showingtumor cell cluster in untreated mouse. FIG. 5D, BLI of mice given 4T1luc⁺ tumor cells after 60 Gy (3 daily doses of 20 Gy each) LTI on days14,15,16 as well as 21, 22 and 23. Blank areas indicate death of mice.FIG. 5E, BLI of mice given 4T1 luc⁺ cells, 60 Gy (3 daily doses of 20 Gyeach) LTI, and i.p injection of CY (500 mg/kg) on day 23. FIG. 5F, micewere given 4T1 luc⁺ cells and LTI and CY as in E, and Thy 1.2+ T cellswere harvested just before CY injection on day 23. T cells werecryopreserved, then thawed and injected (5×10⁶) i.v. 48 hr afterinjection of CY. BLI at serial time points is shown, as well as survivalof untreated and experimental groups. There were significant differencesin survival of groups given LTI alone or LTI+CY vs LTI+CY+T cells(p<0.05), but not in groups given LTI+CY vs LTI alone (p>0.05).

FIG. 6. PDL-1 and CD62L expression of tumor-infiltrating cells.Tumor-infiltrating cells were analyzed at day 21 after CT26 tumorimplantation, as well as at day 35 in untreated animals or animals thatreceived LTI 30 Gy at day 21. PDL-1 expression was analyzed on MDSCs(Mac-1⁺ Gr1⁺), TAMs (Mac-1⁺ Gr1⁻) suppressor cells, as well as DCs(CD11c⁺). CD44 and CD62L expression was analyzed on CD8+ tumorinfiltrating cells. Representative stainings are shown.

DEFINITIONS

To facilitate understanding of the invention, the following definitionsare provided. It is to be understood that, in general, terms nototherwise defined are to be given their meaning or meanings as generallyaccepted in the art.

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual publication, patent, or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from a consideration of the specification or practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andExamples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope of theinvention being indicated by the appended claims.

Subject, for the purposes of the present invention, refers to anindividual that has been diagnosed with cancer and is in need oftreatment. Usually the subject is a mammal, where mammal refers to anyanimal classified as a mammal, including humans, domestic and farmanimals, and zoo, sports, or pet animals, such as dogs, horses, cats,cows, etc. Preferably, the mammal is human.

Prognostic and predictive information. As used herein the termsprognostic and predictive information are used interchangeably to referto any information that may be used to foretell any aspect of the courseof a disease or condition either in the absence or presence oftreatment. Such information may include, but is not limited to, theaverage life expectancy of a patient, the likelihood that a patient willsurvive for a given amount of time (e.g., 6 months, 1 year, 5 years,etc.), the likelihood that a patient will be cured of a disease, thelikelihood that a patient's disease will respond to a particular therapy(wherein response may be defined in any of a variety of ways).Prognostic and predictive information are included within the broadcategory of diagnostic information.

Response. As used herein a response to treatment may refer to anybeneficial alteration in a subject's condition that occurs as a resultof treatment. Such alteration may include stabilization of thecondition, e.g. prevention of deterioration that would have taken placein the absence of the treatment, amelioration of symptoms of thecondition, improvement in the prospects for cure of the condition, etc.One may refer to a subject's response or to a tumors response. Ingeneral these concepts are used interchangeably herein.

Tumor or subject response may be measured according to a wide variety ofcriteria, including clinical criteria and objective criteria. Techniquesfor assessing response include, but are not limited to, clinicalexamination, chest X-ray, CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, endoscopy,laparoscopy, presence or level of tumor markers in a sample obtainedfrom a subject, cytology, histology. Many of these techniques attempt todetermine the size of a tumor or otherwise determine the total tumorburden. The exact response criteria can be selected in any appropriatemanner, provided that when comparing groups of tumors and/or patients,the groups to be compared are assessed based on the same or comparablecriteria for determining response rate. One of ordinary skill in the artwill be able to select appropriate criteria.

Clinical efficacy can be measured by any method known in the art. Insome embodiments, clinical efficacy of the subject treatment method isdetermined by measuring the clinical benefit rate (CBR). The clinicalbenefit rate is measured by determining the sum of the percentage ofpatients who are in complete remission (CR), the number of patients whoare in partial remission (PR) and the number of patients having stabledisease (SD) at a time point at least 6 months out from the end oftherapy. The shorthand for this formula is CBR=CR+PR+SD months. In someembodiments, CBR for the subject treatment method is at least about 50%.In some embodiments, CBR for the subject treatment method is at leastabout 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or more.

Sample. As used herein, a sample obtained from a subject may include,but is not limited to, any or all of the following: a cell or cells, aportion of tissue, blood, serum, ascites, urine, saliva, and other bodyfluids, secretions, or excretions. The term “sample” also includes anymaterial derived by processing such a sample. Derived samples mayinclude nucleotide molecules or polypeptides extracted from the sampleor obtained by subjecting the sample to techniques such as amplificationor reverse transcription of mRNA, etc.

Tumor sample. The term “tumor sample” as used herein is taken broadly toinclude cell or tissue samples removed from a tumor, cells (or theirprogeny) derived from a tumor that may be located elsewhere in the body(e.g., cells in the bloodstream or at a site of metastasis), or anymaterial derived by processing such a sample. Derived tumor samples mayinclude nucleic acids or proteins extracted from the sample or obtainedby subjecting the sample to techniques such as amplification or reversetranscription of mRNA, etc.

High dose radiation. As used herein, high dose radiation refers to thelocalized delivery of radiation doses where a high level of radiation isdelivered in a small number of doses over a short period of time.Generally the radiation is delivered by stereotactic body radiationtherapy (SBRT), as the level of radiation is sufficient to damage normaltissues.

The total dose of radiation to the targeted site is usually at leastabout 20 Gy, at least 25 Gy, at least 30 Gy, and not more than 60 Gyusually not more than 40 Gy, delivered over a period of less than oneweek, for example in a single dose, in 3 fractionated doses over aperiod of from 1 to 3 days, in 2 fractionated doses over a period offrom 1 to 5 days, etc. In a fractionated dose each dose may be the sameor different, but in sum will not exceed to the total dose indicatedabove. In some tissues it may be desirable to have a fractionate so thata single dose is less than 20 Gy, less than 15 Gy, less than 10 Gy.

SBRT requires a means to detect and process a three-dimensional array.Various three-dimensional coordinate systems can be used, includinginternal fiducials, external markers and/or image guidance. Image guidedradiation therapy (IGRT), with daily CT imaging, ultrasound and/ororthogonal x-rays can assist in targeting accuracy. Several other toolscan be used to improve immobilization including stereotactic bodyframes, abdominal compression devices and vacuum bags. Respiratorygating, which allows for the radiation beam to be turned off whenrespiratory movements place the target outside of the pre-determinedpositioning parameters, and for radiation to resume when the targetfalls back within the accepted alignment, can help improve targeting.Some SBRT systems (such as Cyberknife®) track three-dimensionalcoordinates in real time, while the head of the accelerator realignsitself in real time to accommodate fluctuations in the target position.

The planning and delivery of SBRT generally uses multiple non-coplanarand/or arcing fields, directed at the radiation target. As result, thedose gradient is steeper than with conventional radiation, though thelow dose region encompasses a larger volume and is irregularly shaped.The dose with SBRT is generally prescribed to the isocenter and/orisodose line encompassing the target, resulting in an inhomogeneous dosedelivery in which the isocenter receives a greater dose than theperiphery of the target. To reduce dose to surrounding tissues, a lowerisocenter dose is selected and/or the dose is prescribed to a higherisodose line. With hypofractionated SBRT, versus conventional radiation,the absolute prescribed radiation dose is less (due to the use oflarger, more biologically effective dose fractions).

SBRT is well suited for the sparing of tumors involving or abuttingparallel functioning tissues, for example kidneys, lung parenchyma andliver parenchyma, in which functional subunits are contiguous, discreteentities. SBRT reduces the organ volume, and thus the absolute number ofparallel functioning subunits destroyed by radiation. Because of anorgan reserve, with redundancy of function, the undamaged functionalsubunits can maintain the organ function and/or regenerate newfunctional subunits (as occurs in liver). Serial functioning tissuessuch as spinal cord, esophagus, bronchi, hepatic ducts and bowel, whichare linear or branching organs, in which functional subunits areundefined, may also benefit from reduced high-dose volume exposure.

Bone marrow transplantation has become well established in the treatmentof malignant disorders. High-dose chemotherapy with hematopoietic stemcell support is widely used for most hematological malignancies, as wellas for some solid tumors. In light of recent developments in bloodprogenitor cell harvest, in particular, the availability of largenumbers of blood stem cells, mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulatingfactor and collected by leukapheresis, it is possible to overcomehistocompatibility barriers in HLA-mismatched patients. Other recentdevelopments including but not limited to new methods for bloodprogenitor cells mobilization and ex vivo expansion of progenitor cellsand immune cells, the use of umbilical cord blood as an alternativesource of stem cells, and other molecular techniques, support aneffective treatment of cancer via autologous or allogeneictransplantation of hematopoietic and immune cells.

Autologous HSCT requires the extraction (apheresis) of hematopoieticstem cells (HSC) from the patient and storage of the harvested cells ina freezer. The patient is typically treated with high-dose chemotherapywith or without radiotherapy with the intention of eradicating thepatient's malignant cell population at the cost of partial or completebone marrow ablation (destruction of patient's bone marrow function togrow new blood cells). The patient's own stored stem cells are thenreturned to his/her body, where they replace destroyed tissue and resumethe patient's normal blood cell production. Autologous transplants havethe advantage of lower risk of infection during the immune-compromisedportion of the treatment since the recovery of immune function is rapid.Also, the incidence of patients experiencing rejection(graft-versus-host disease) is very rare due to the donor and recipientbeing the same individual. These advantages have established autologousHSCT as one of the standard second-line treatments for such diseases aslymphoma (Canellos, George (1997) The Oncologist 2 (3): 181-183).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Methods are provided for the treatment of cancer in an individual. Themethods of the invention provide for an initial localized, high singledose or short course of doses of radiation at a primary tumor site ofthe individual; collection of T cells from the individual after a periodof time sufficient activation of an anti-tumor response, for examplefrom about 2 weeks to about 6 weeks; a dose of chemotherapy, which maybe a conventional or a myeloablative dose; followed by reinfusion of theT cell population back to the individual. The methods of the inventionare performed in the absence of vaccination with tumor cells.

The methods of the invention can provide for a durable completeremission of a primary tumor. The methods of the invention can alsoprevent the growth of tumor metastases at a site other than the site ofradiation.

Cancer immunotherapy is the use of the immune system to reject cancer.The methods stimulate a patient's immune system to attack malignanttumor cells that are responsible for disease. This can be throughmanipulating the patient's own immune system to recognize tumor cells astargets to be destroyed. Many kinds of tumor cells display unusualantigens that are either inappropriate for the cell type and/or itsenvironment, or are only normally present during the organisms'development (e.g. fetal antigens). Examples of such antigens include butare not limited to the glycosphingolipid GD2, a disialoganglioside thatis normally only expressed at a significant level on the outer surfacemembranes of neuronal cells, where its exposure to the immune system islimited by the blood-brain barrier. GD2 is expressed on the surfaces ofa wide range of tumor cells including neuroblastoma, medulloblastomas,astrocytomas, melanomas, small-cell lung cancer, osteosarcomas and othersoft tissue sarcomas. Other kinds of tumor cells display cell surfacereceptors that are rare or absent on the surfaces of healthy cells, andwhich are responsible for activating cellular signal transductionpathways that cause the unregulated growth and division of the tumorcell. Examples include ErbB2, a constitutively active cell surfacereceptor that is produced at abnormally high levels on the surface ofbreast cancer tumor cells.

However, cancer cells utilize multiple immunosuppressive mechanisms toevade T-cell responses, either to avoid immune recognition or to disableeffector T-cells. These include alterations of components of the antigenpresentation machinery, defects in proximal TCR signaling, secretion ofimmunosuppressive and proapoptotic factors, activation of negativeregulatory pathways and specific recruitment of regulatory cellpopulations. These mechanisms limit the ability of the immune system torestrain the tumor and the effectiveness of immunotherapy strategies tosuccessfully eradicate malignant cells.

Tumor antigen processing and presentation by APCs is the dominantmechanism underlying the development of tumor antigen-specific CD4⁺T-cell tolerance. Dendritic cells (DCs) in particular, play a criticalrole in the decision leading to T-cell tolerance versus T-cell primingin vivo. Such a decision is greatly influenced by the environmentalcontext in which the antigen is encountered by DCs. While antigenencounter by DCs in an inflammatory context trigger their maturation toa phenotype capable of generating strong immune responses, antigencapture by DCs in a non-inflammatory environment fails to elicitproductive T-cell responses, leading instead to the development ofT-cell tolerance. As tumor progresses, its microenvironment not onlyfails to provide inflammatory signals needed for efficient DCactivation, but generates additional immunosuppressive mechanisms suchas IL-10 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that furtherimpact negatively upon DC's maturation and/or function.

Without being bound by theory, it is believed that a high dose ofradiation localized to the site of a tumor can alter theimmunosuppressive environment of the tumor through killing ofundesirable regulatory cells, altering the antigen-presenting cellspresent at the site of the tumor, and the like. In immunocompetentanimals, high-dose tumor radiation changes the balance between CD8+effector cells and T regulatory cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells(MDSCs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in favor of CD8+ effector Tcells, and promote immunologically mediated tumor rejection. However,the increased responsiveness of host T cells to the tumor is ineffectivewhen followed by chemotherapy, because the nascent desirable response isablated by chemotherapy. The methods of the invention protect theseactivated anti-tumor T cells by collecting them prior to chemotherapyand reinfusing to the patient after the completion of chemotherapy. Inthis way a durable immune response against the tumor is obtained. Nospecific tumor antigen immunization is required for tumor eradication.The methods of the invention significantly improve survival after highdose radiotherapy of advanced solid tumors by harvesting T cells afterradiotherapy, and reinfusing after chemotherapy.

Methods of Treatment

In the methods of the invention, an individual diagnosed with cancer istreated. The types of cancer that can be treated using the subjectmethods of the present invention include but are not limited to adrenalcortical cancer, anal cancer, aplastic anemia, bile duct cancer, bladdercancer, bone cancer, bone metastasis, brain cancers, central nervoussystem (CNS) cancers, peripheral nervous system (PNS) cancers, breastcancer, cervical cancer, childhood Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, colon andrectum cancer, endometrial cancer, esophagus cancer, Ewing's family oftumors (e.g. Ewing's sarcoma), eye cancer, gallbladder cancer,gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors, gastrointestinal stromal tumors,gestational trophoblastic disease, Hodgkin's lymphoma, Kaposi's sarcoma,kidney cancer, laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer, liver cancer, lungcancer, lung carcinoid tumors, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, male breastcancer, malignant mesothelioma, multiple myeloma, myelodysplasticsyndrome, myeloproliferative disorders, nasal cavity and paranasalcancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, neuroblastoma, oral cavity andoropharyngeal cancer, osteosarcoma, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer,penile cancer, pituitary tumor, prostate cancer, retinoblastoma,rhabdomyosarcoma, salivary gland cancer, sarcomas, melanoma skin cancer,non-melanoma skin cancers, stomach cancer, testicular cancer, thymuscancer, thyroid cancer, uterine cancer (e.g. uterine sarcoma),transitional cell carcinoma, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer,mesothelioma, squamous cell or epidermoid carcinoma, bronchial adenoma,choriocarinoma, head and neck cancers, teratocarcinoma, or Waldenstrom'smacroglobulinemia.

In a preferred embodiment, the subject method is used to treat a solidtumor amenable to high dose radiation, for example, lung cancer, livercancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer or pancreaticcancer; including without limitation advanced and/or metastatic cancer.

The individual is treated with high dose localized radiation, as definedabove. The individual is then allowed a suitable period of time for Tcell activation in situ, usually at least one week, at least two weeks,at least three weeks and not more than 6 weeks, not more than 5 weeks,not more than 4 weeks.

Collection of Activated T Cells

Following T cell activation, peripheral T cells are collected, usingmethods known in the art. For example leukophoresis, collection of wholeblood, etc. may be used. Following collection, T cells are optionallyseparated from other cells by conventional methods, including flowcytometry, iso-osmolar Percoll density gradient; immunomagneticseparation technique using antibody or magnetic beads coated withantibody, etc. Where affinity selection is performed, the selection maybe positive, for example separating cells that express a marker ofinterest, e.g. CD4⁺, CD8⁺, CD3⁺, etc., or may be a negative selection,e.g. selecting against undesirable regulatory cells, e.g. CD25⁺ cells.

In some embodiments, hematopoietic stem and/or progenitor cells such asCD34⁺ cells are collected with the T cells for autologousreconstitution. In other embodiments hematopoietic stem and/orprogenitor cells are collected from an allogeneic donor forhematopoietic reconstitution.

For collection of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells the cells can bemobilized with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). G-CSF is apotent inducer of HSCs mobilization from the bone marrow into thebloodstream, and is used to increase the number of hematopoietic stemcells in the blood of the donor before collection by leukapheresis foruse in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It may also be given tothe recipient, to compensate for conditioning regimens.

In some embodiments, CD34⁺ hematopoietic progenitor cells are enriched.Known methods in the art can be used to enrich CD34⁺ hematopoieticprogenitor cells. For example, CD34⁺ cells may be isolated from bloodsamples using immunomagnetic or immunofluorescent methods. Antibodiesare used to quantify and purify hematopoietic progenitor stem cells forclinical bone marrow transplantation. In one embodiment, iso-osmolarPercoll density gradient is used to enrich CD34⁺ cells. In anotherembodiment, an immunomagnetic separation technique using anti-CD34antibody or magnetic beads coated with anti-CD34 antibody is used toenrich CD34⁺ cells.

Chemotherapy

Following collection of T cells and optionally hematopoieticstem/progenitor cells, the individual is treated with an anti-tumoragent, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof. Thedose may be a conventional dose or a myeloablative dose. In someembodiments, the anti-tumor agents include but are not limited toantitumor alkylating agents, antitumor antimetabolites, antitumorantibiotics, plant-derived antitumor agents, antitumor organoplatinumcompounds, antitumor campthotecin derivatives, antitumor tyrosine kinaseinhibitors and other agents having antitumor activities, or apharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Alkylating agents are known to act through the alkylation ofmacromolecules such as the DNA of cancer cells, and are usually strongelectrophiles. This activity can disrupt DNA synthesis and celldivision. Examples of alkylating reagents suitable for use hereininclude nitrogen mustards and their analogues and derivatives including,cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, chlorambucil, estramustine,mechlorethamine hydrochloride, melphalan, and uracil mustard. Otherexamples of alkylating agents include alkyl sulfonates (e.g. busulfan),nitrosoureas (e.g. carmustine, lomustine, and streptozocin), triazenes(e.g. dacarbazine and temozolomide), ethylenimines/methylmelamines (e.g.altretamine and thiotepa), and methylhydrazine derivatives (e.g.procarbazine). Included in the alkylating agent group are thealkylating-like platinum-containing drugs comprising carboplatin,cisplatin, and oxaliplatin.

Antimetabolic antineoplastic agents structurally resemble naturalmetabolites, and are involved in normal metabolic processes of cancercells such as the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins. They differenough from the natural metabolites so that they interfere with themetabolic processes of cancer cells. Suitable antimetabolicantineoplastic agents to be used in the present invention can beclassified according to the metabolic process they affect, and caninclude, but are not limited to, analogues and derivatives of folicacid, pyrimidines, purines, and cytidine. Members of the folic acidgroup of agents suitable for use herein include, but are not limited to,methotrexate (amethopterin), pemetrexed and their analogues andderivatives. Pyrimidine agents suitable for use herein include, but arenot limited to, cytarabine, floxuridine, fluorouracil (5-fluorouracil),capecitabine, gemcitabine, and their analogues and derivatives. Purineagents suitable for use herein include, but are not limited to,mercaptopurine (6-mercaptopurine), pentostatin, thioguanine, cladribine,and their analogues and derivatives. Cytidine agents suitable for useherein include, but are not limited to, cytarabine (cytosinearabinodside), azacitidine (5-azacytidine) and their analogues andderivatives.

Natural antineoplastic agents comprise antimitotic agents, antibioticantineoplastic agents, camptothecin analogues, and enzymes. Antimitoticagents suitable for use herein include, but are not limited to, vincaalkaloids like vinblastine, vincristine, vindesine, vinorelbine, andtheir analogues and derivatives. They are derived from the Madagascarperiwinkle plant and are usually cell cycle-specific for the M phase,binding to tubulin in the microtubules of cancer cells. Otherantimitotic agents suitable for use herein are the podophyllotoxins,which include, but are not limited to etoposide, teniposide, and theiranalogues and derivatives. These reagents predominantly target the G2and late S phase of the cell cycle.

Also included among the natural antineoplastic agents are the antibioticantineoplastic agents: Antibiotic antineoplastic agents areantimicrobial drugs that have anti-tumor properties usually throughinteracting with cancer cell DNA. Antibiotic antineoplastic agentssuitable for use herein include, but are not limited to, belomycin,dactinomycin, doxorubicin, idarubicin, epirubicin, mitomycin,mitoxantrone, pentostatin, plicamycin, and their analogues andderivatives.

The natural antineoplastic agent classification also includescamptothecin analogues and derivatives which are suitable for use hereinand include camptothecin, topotecan, and irinotecan. These agents actprimarily by targeting the nuclear enzyme topoisomerase I. Anothersubclass under the natural antineoplastic agents is the enzyme,L-asparaginase and its variants. L-asparaginase acts by depriving somecancer cells of L-asparagine by catalyzing the hydrolysis of circulatingasparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia.

Hormonal antineoplastic agents act predominantly on hormone-dependentcancer cells associated with prostate tissue, breast tissue, endometrialtissue, ovarian tissue, lymphoma, and leukemia. Such tissues may beresponsive to and dependent upon such classes of agents asglucocorticoids, progestins, estrogens, and androgens. Both analoguesand derivatives that are agonists or antagonists are suitable for use inthe present invention to treat tumors. Examples of glucocorticoidagonists/antagonists suitable for use herein are dexamethasone,cortisol, corticosterone, prednisone, mifepristone (RU486), theiranalogues and derivatives. The progestin agonist/antagonist subclass ofagents suitable for use herein includes, but is not limited to,hydroxyprogesterone, medroxyprogesterone, megestrol acetate,mifepristone (RU486), ZK98299, their analogues and derivatives. Examplesfrom the estrogen agonist/antagonist subclass of agents suitable for useherein include, but are not limited to, estrogen, tamoxifen, toremifene,RU58668, SR16234, ZD164384, ZK191703, fulvestrant, their analogues andderivatives. Examples of aromatase inhibitors suitable for use herein,which inhibit estrogen production, include, but are not limited to,androstenedione, formestane, exemestane, aminoglutethimide, anastrozole,letrozole, their analogues and derivatives. Examples from the androgenagonist/antagonist subclass of agents suitable for use herein include,but are not limited to, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone,fluoxymesterone, testolactone, testosterone enanthate, testosteronepropionate, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists/antagonists (e.g.leuprolide, goserelin, triptorelin, buserelin), diethylstilbestrol,abarelix, cyproterone, flutamide, nilutamide, bicalutamide, theiranalogues and derivatives.

Angiogenesis inhibitors work by inhibiting the vascularization oftumors. Angiogenesis inhibitors encompass a wide variety of agentsincluding small molecule agents, antibody agents, and agents that targetRNA function. Examples of angiogenesis inhibitors suitable for useherein include, but are not limited to, ranibizumab, bevacizumab,SU11248, PTK787, ZK222584, CEP-7055, angiozyme, dalteparin, thalidomide,suramin, CC-5013, combretastatin A4 Phosphate, LY317615, soyisoflavones, AE-941, interferon alpha, PTK787/ZK 222584, ZD6474, EMD121974, ZD6474, BAY 543-9006, celecoxib, halofuginone hydrobromide,bevacizumab, their analogues, variants, or derivatives.

T Cell Reinfusion

T cells collected from the subject may be separated from a mixture ofcells by techniques that enrich for desired cells. An appropriatesolution may be used for dispersion or suspension. Such solution willgenerally be a balanced salt solution, e.g. normal saline, PBS, Hank'sbalanced salt solution, etc., conveniently supplemented with fetal calfserum or other naturally occurring factors, in conjunction with anacceptable buffer at low concentration, generally from 5-25 mM.Convenient buffers include HEPES, phosphate buffers, lactate buffers,etc.

Techniques for affinity separation may include magnetic separation,using antibody-coated magnetic beads, affinity chromatography, cytotoxicagents joined to a monoclonal antibody or used in conjunction with amonoclonal antibody, e.g. complement and cytotoxins, and “panning” withantibody attached to a solid matrix, eg. plate, or other convenienttechnique. Techniques providing accurate separation include fluorescenceactivated cell sorters, which can have varying degrees ofsophistication, such as multiple color channels, low angle and obtuselight scattering detecting channels, impedance channels, etc. The cellsmay be selected against dead cells by employing dyes associated withdead cells (e.g. propidium iodide). Any technique may be employed whichis not unduly detrimental to the viability of the selected cells. Theaffinity reagents may be specific receptors or ligands for the cellsurface molecules indicated above. In addition to antibody reagents,peptide-MHC antigen and T cell receptor pairs may be used; peptideligands and receptor; effector and receptor molecules, and the like.

The separated cells may be collected in any appropriate medium thatmaintains the viability of the cells, usually having a cushion of serumat the bottom of the collection tube. Various media are commerciallyavailable and may be used according to the nature of the cells,including dMEM, HBSS, dPBS, RPMI, Iscove's medium, etc., frequentlysupplemented with fetal calf serum.

The collected and optionally enriched cell population may be usedimmediately, or may be frozen at liquid nitrogen temperatures andstored, being thawed and capable of being reused. The cells will usuallybe stored in 10% DMSO, 50% FCS, 40% RPMI 1640 medium.

The T cells may be reinfused to the subject in any physiologicallyacceptable medium, normally intravascularly, although they may also beintroduced into bone or other convenient site, where the cells may findan appropriate site for growth. Usually, at least 1×10⁶ cells/kg will beadministered, at least 1×10⁷ cells/kg, at least 1×10⁸ cells/kg, at least1×10⁹ cells/kg, at least 1×10¹⁰ cells/kg, or more, usually being limitedby the number of T cells that are obtained during collection.

Business Method

Also provided by the present invention is a business method of providingpurified tumor cells of the present invention to a third party. Asdescribed herein, the term customer or potential customer refers toindividuals or entities that may utilize methods or services of the Tcell purification business. Potential customers for the T cellpurification methods and services described herein include for example,patients, subjects, physicians, cytological labs, health care providers,researchers, insurance companies, government entities such as Medicaid,employers, or any other entity interested in achieving more economicalor effective system for diagnosing, monitoring and treating cancer.

The following are examples of the methods and compositions of theinvention. It is understood that various other embodiments may bepracticed, given the general description provided above.

Example 1 Anti-Tumor T Cell Immunity Induced by High DoseHypofractionated Radiation can be Used as Curative Therapy for AdvancedTumors

The following study assessed the effect of exceptionally high singledoses of radiation, which are now clinically applicable, on advancedsolid tumors in mice. Our findings indicate that these high doses cancure mice with advanced colon tumors, and that efficacy is dependent ona competent immune system. The radiation not only results in a dramaticshift in the balance of tumor-infiltrating suppressive versus effectorimmune cells, but also induces systemic anti-tumor immunity thatprevents tumor growth after challenge at distant sites, and can betransferred by T cells to adoptive hosts. Complete remissions wereinduced in metastatic breast tumors after primary tumor radiation, andinfusion of radiation activated T cells. The findings show that singlehigh dose radiation may have a qualitatively different effect onsystemic immunity to tumors, as compared to conventional radiation withmultiple small doses.

Advances in the use of confocal radiation beams targeted to tumors in 3dimensions while minimizing radiation to adjacent normal tissues(stereotactic body radiation therapy; SBRT) allow for administration ofsingle doses of 30 Gy or up to 3 daily doses of 20 Gy in recent clinicalstudies (Chang, B. K. & Timmerman, R. D. Stereotactic body radiationtherapy: a comprehensive review. Am. J. Clin. Oncol. 30, 637-644, 2007;Brown, J. M. & Koong, A. C. High-dose single-fraction radiotherapy:exploiting a new biology? Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Phys. 71, 324-325,2008). The efficacy of SBRT to induce tumor remissions is greater thanthat of conventional therapy with multiple small doses of radiation. Oneadvantage of SBRT may be induction of tumor immunity, that is notachievable with conventional radiotherapy.

Radiation can increase tumor immunogenicity by stimulating antigenpresenting cells, and can promote migration and entry of T cells intotumors. In some studies, tumor radiation in mice combined withimmunotherapy induced systemic immunity such that tumor growth atdistant sites was slowed. However, durable complete remissions withweakly immunogenic tumors were not obtained with the combination unlessthe tumors were small (<1 cm) and non-metastatic.

Advanced tumors develop a microenvironment that suppresses tumorimmunity by an imbalance in the makeup of tumor infiltrating mononuclearcells that favor myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumorassociated macrophages (TAMs) over conventional CD8⁺ T cells, andCD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ Treg cells over CD8⁺ T cells. In addition, expression ofnegative co-stimulatory molecules such as PD-1 and Tim-3 on CD8⁺T cellsresults in an “exhausted” phenotype with associated immune dysfunction.Clinical studies have shown that high levels of immunosuppressive MDSCsand Treg cells or increased expression of negative co-stimulatoryreceptors on T cells within tumor biopsies were correlated with a poorprognosis, whereas high levels of conventional CD8⁺ T cell werecorrelated with a good prognosis.

The study described herein determined whether high doses of radiation,similar to those used in SBRT, administered to poorly immunogenicadvanced CT26 colon and 4T1 breast tumors in mice can induce curativesystemic immune responses that will prevent tumor growth after challengeat distant sites, and whether anti-tumor immunity can be transferred byradiation activated T cells. In addition, the impact of radiation on thetumor infiltrating mononuclear cells was studied to determine whetherthe immune suppressive microenvironment can be reversed by the high doseradiation therapy.

Results

Treatment of CT26 tumors with radiotherapy induces complete remissions,and systemic immunity that can be transferred with T cells: FIG. 1Ashows the growth of CT26 tumor cells injected subcutaneously (2.5×10⁴cells) into the hind quarter of wild type BALB/c mice. There was aprogressive increase in tumor volume, and none of the tumors developedspontaneous regressions. By day 21 the tumors were advanced, and noduleswere at least 1 cm in diameter. When tumors were given a single dose of15 Gy local tumor irradiation (LTI) at day 21 using lead jigs developedfor targeting only the 1.0-1.5 cm diameter tumor nodule, transientslowing of tumor growth was observed in 7 of 8 mice. A complete,sustained remission in tumor growth was achieved in 1 of 8 mice. Whenthe dose was increased to 20 Gy then 3 of 5 mice developed completetumor remissions, and when the dose was increased to 30 Gy, 13 of 15mice achieved complete remissions, and mice survived for at least 100days (FIG. 1A). Further observations showed no recurrence of tumors upto 180 days. Although a single dose of 30 Gy was highly effective intreating the tumors, 10 daily doses of 3 Gy each induced remissions inonly 1 of 8 tumors, and survival of tumor bearing mice was similar tothat with a single dose of 15 Gy (FIG. 1A; p>0.05).

The cured wild type mice observed for 100-150 days were challenged withanother subcutaneous injection (5.0×10⁵ CT26 tumor cells), and 9 of 12tumors resolved after a brief increase in volume. Three out of 12 tumorsgrew progressively (FIG. 1B), and mice with the latter tumors diedwithin 100 days (FIG. 1B). In a previous study (Filatenkov et al. J.Immunol. 1; 183(11):7196-203, 2009), we showed that a singlesubcutaneous vaccination with 1×10⁶ CT26 tumor cells that wereirradiated in vitro with 50 Gy and mixed with the adjuvant, CpG, wasable to protect about 50% of BALB/c mice from subsequent challenge with2.5×10⁴ tumor cells. However, when the vaccinated mice were challengedwith 5.0×10⁵ tumor cells, most tumors grew progressively, and about 90%of challenged hosts died (FIG. 1B). Thus, the protection afforded by thesingle dose of LTI was more potent than the vaccination procedure forthis weakly immunogenic tumor (p=0.01).

In order to determine whether T cells from mice with complete remissionsof tumors for at least 100 days after LTI treatment can adoptivelytransfer the ability to effectively treat CT26 tumors, we used thescheme outlined in the diagram in FIG. 1C. T cells were purified fromthe spleens of the cured mice using anti-Thy1.2 columns, and combinedwith T cell depleted bone marrow cells from the donors. The marrow and Tcells were injected i.v. into irradiated adoptive recipients that hadbeen given a subcutaneous injection of CT26 tumor cells, and then asingle dose of 8 Gy TBI 7 days later. The tumor bearing recipients alldeveloped complete remissions and survived for at least 100 days (FIG.1C). When the experiment was repeated using T cells from the spleen ofuntreated normal mice combined with T cell depleted marrow cells, theadoptive transfer did not induce remissions in tumor growth, and allrecipients died by day 40 (FIG. 1C). The survival of the latterrecipients was similar to that of recipients given tumors withoutsubsequent radiation and transplantation.

FIG. 2A shows that mice with 21 day tumors had no protection againsttumor challenge on the contralateral flank at day 21, and all secondtumors grew progressively. Similarly, when mice with 21 days tumors weregiven 30 Gy LTI at day 21 along with a contralateral tumor challenge onthe same day, all second tumors grew progressively (FIG. 2B). Incontrast, if challenge was delayed until 30 days after LTI, then only 1of 5 second tumors grew progressively. This indicated that tumorimmunity does not develop immediately after LTI, but becomes manifestafter a few weeks. In further studies, the impact of T cell depletion orimmune cell deficiency on the ability of LTI to induce complete tumorremissions was determined. FIG. 2C shows that about 90% of mice with 21day tumors survived more than 100 days after LTI. However, none of themice depleted of CD8⁺ T cells by the injection of anti-CD8 mAb, survivedfor more than 100 days (p<0.0001). About 40% of mice depleted of CD4⁺ Tcells survived for at least 100 days (p<0.01) as compared to micewithout mAb. Depletion of both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells with anti-thymocyteserum (ATS) reduced the survival of all mice to less than 62 days. Thesurvival of mice in that latter group was significantly shorter thanwith either depletion of CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells alone (p<0.01).

In some experiments the CT26 cells were injected subcutaneously intoimmunodeficient RAG-2^(−/−) mice, and then treated with 30 Gy LTI at day21. FIG. 2D shows that the tumors in these mice grew progressively, andnone of the tumor bearing mice survived beyond 70 days. We injected Tcells from the spleen of normal wild type BALB/c mice i.v. into thetumor bearing RAG-2^(−/−) mice immediately after LTI. The injection of Tcells improved survival significantly (p<0.05), but only 20% of micesurvived for more than 100 days (FIG. 2D). We injected mice with asingle dose of cyclophosphamide (CY) just after the LTI, and injectedthe wild type T cells thereafter. The combination of LTI, CY and T cellssignificantly improved survival of the mice as compared to LTI alone(p<0.001) such that 60% of mice survived at least 100 days (FIG. 2D).None of the mice given LTI and CY without T cells survived beyond 80days, and the addition of T cells significantly improved survival(p<0.001). The effect of T cell injections on CT26 tumor growth inRAG2−/−mice given LTI and CY was assessed by bioluminescence imaging(BLI) of luciferase gene transduced CT26 tumor cells. FIG. 2E shows theexperimental scheme and the BLI results at weekly intervals from day 21,the time of LTI. CY was injected on day 23 with or without a T cellinjection on day 25. There was considerable spread of tumors by day 21in groups with and without T cell injections. By day 28 most mice hadtumor extending above the diaphragm associated with development of tumornodules in the lungs. By day 35, there were marked differences in theRAG2−/− mice groups with or without T cells; 2 of 5 mice in the lattergroup died, when all in the T cell injected group survived and showedmarked reduction of tumor signals. Tumor clearing continued in the Tcell injection group, and by day 42, 6 out of 8 mice showed no tumorsignal. In contrast, the group without the T cell injection showedcontinued tumor growth, and all of the mice died by day 107.

Analysis of CT26 Tumor Infiltrating Mononuclear Cells:

The untreated 21 day CT26 tumors in wild type mice were examined for thecomposition of the infiltrating mononuclear cells. The subcutaneoustumors were excised and single cell suspensions were stained for T cellmarkers as well as the CD11b and Gr-1 markers of myeloid derivedsuppressor cells (MDSCs) and tumor associated macrophages (TAMs). TheCD8⁺ and CD4⁺ T cells accounted for about 12 and 9% respectively of themononuclear cells in the representative two color FACS patterns (FIG.3A). Among the gated CD8⁺ cells, about 74% expressed the PD-1⁺Tim-3⁺phenotype that has been described for “exhausted” cells in mice withtumors or with chronic viral infections (Sakuishi et al. J. Exp. Med.207, 2187-2194, 2010). Among the CD4⁺ cells, about 33% were CD25⁺, andamong the latter, about 60% were FoxP3⁺ Treg cells. In addition, themajority of the CD4⁺CD25⁺ and CD4⁺CD25⁻ T cells expressed the negativeco-stimulatory receptor, PD-1, that has been reported previously to beupregulated on tumor infiltrating T cells. Interestingly, the tumormononuclear cells contained about 10% CD11b⁺Gr-1⁺ cells with the MDSCphenotype, and 34% that were CD11b⁺Gr-1⁻ TAMs. The MDSCs and TAMSexpressed high levels of PDL-1 (FIG. 5).

At the same time that the tumor infiltrating cells were examined, thespleens from these mice were examined also (FIGS. 3 A and B). The CD8⁺and CD4⁺ T cells accounted for about 5 and 13% of mononuclear cellsrespectively, and about 13% of CD4⁺ cells were CD25⁺, and only 5% ofCD8⁺ cells were PD-1⁺Tim-3⁺. The mean percentage of CD25⁺ cells amongCD4⁺ cells in the normal spleen was about 11%, and the mean percentageof PD-1⁺Tim-3⁺ cells among CD8⁺ cells was about 1% (FIG. 3B). Whereas,the majority of CD4⁺ cells in the tumor were PD-1⁺, only about 10-13% inthe spleen were PD-1⁺ in the flow patterns shown in FIG. 3A. TheCD11b⁺Gr-1⁺ and CD11b⁺Gr-1⁻ cells in the spleen each accounted for about8% of mononuclear cells. FIG. 3B compares the mean percentages of theCD8⁺, CD4⁺ T cells, MDSCs, and TAMs in the tumors, and spleens from thetumor-bearing and normal mice. The mean percentages of the T cells andMDSCs were not significantly different in the tumors, and the meanpercentage of TAMs was increased about 2 fold as compared to that of theCD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells and MDSC. In contrast, the percentages of CD4⁺ andCD8⁺ T cells were considerably higher than MDSCs or TAMs in the normalspleen. The mean percentages of MDSCs in the tumors was increased ascompared to the spleen of the tumor bearing mice (p<0.01), and meanpercentages of MDSCs in both tissues were increased as compared tonormal spleens (p<0.001).

FIG. 3C compares the mean percentages of PD-1⁺Tim-3⁺ cells among CD8⁺ Tcells in the tumors and spleens. Whereas the percentage in the tumorswas about 80%, that in the spleen of tumor bearing or non-tumor bearingmice was less than 5%. Similarly, the mean percentage of PD-1⁺ cellsamong CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ Treg cells was about 80% in tumors, and was lessthan 10% in spleens. The mean percent of Tregs among CD4⁺ T cells wassignificantly increased in the tumors as compared to the spleens.

Radiotherapy Changes Composition of Tumor Infiltrating Cells:

Day 21 tumors were irradiated with a single dose of 30 Gy and theinfiltrating cells were examined at day 35. Controls received noradiation or 10 doses of 30 Gy each. FIG. 4A shows the composition ofinfiltrating cells at day 35 in mice without radiation. The balance of Tcells, MDSCs and TAMs was similar to that observed in day 21 tumorsbefore radiation (FIG. 3). However, tumors given radiation showed asignificant increase in the percentage of CD8⁺ T cells from a mean ofabout 15% without radiation to about 65% (p<0.01) with radiation asshown in representative flow cytometry patterns and bar graphs in FIGS.4A and 4B. The CD8⁺ T cells were all almost all of the effector memory(CD62L⁻CD44⁺) phenotype (FIG. 5), and still showed the “exhausted”phenotype. Interestingly, the combined percentages of MDSCs and TAMswere significantly reduced from about 46% to about 7% (p<0.001) afterradiation (FIGS. 4 A and B). The percentage of Tregs was alsosignificantly reduced (p<0.001), and the high level of PD-1 expressionpersisted on the CD4⁺ Tcon and Treg cells (p>0.05) (FIG. 4 D). Thechanges in the percentages of cell types resulted in marked increases inthe ratio of CD8⁺ T cells to MDSCs, to TAMs, and to Tregs (p<0.0001)(FIG. 4E). Although the single dose of 30 Gy induced a profound changein the composition of cells, the composition after 10 doses of 3 Gy wassimilar to tumors without radiation (FIG. 4).

Use of T Cell Therapy in Preventing Progression of 4T1 Breast TumorMetastases after Radiotherapy:

In additional experiments, we studied the effect of high dose radiationon another tumor, the 4T1 breast tumor in BALB/c mice that metastasizesto the lungs after subcutaneous injection. FIG. 5 A shows the growth ofthe 4T1 tumor transduced with the luciferase gene using BLI aftersubcutaneous injection into the hind quarter. All mice died of tumorprogression within 55 days whether or not tumor cells were transducedwith the luciferase gene (FIG. 5 A), and growth was similar to thatreported for orthotopic injections. Both BLI and histopathologicalanalysis at day 21 showed that tumors had spread to the lungs by thattime. (FIGS. 5 B and C). When 30 Gy was administered to 14 day tumorsslowing of the growth was observed without development of completeremissions. However 3 daily doses of 20 Gy each resulted in completeremissions in 2 out of 5 mice (FIGS. 5 A and B) that survived for morethan 100 days. Thus, 4T1 tumors required higher total doses to achievecomplete remissions as compared to CT26 tumors. In further studies,tumors were allowed to grow for 21 days before treatment as in theexperiments with CT26 tumors. A single dose of 30 Gy LTI showed onlymodest slowing of local tumor growth, and had little impact onmetastatic spread of tumor and survival. When the tumors were irradiatedwith 3 daily doses of 20 Gy each, the subcutaneous tumor markedlyregressed, but spread to distant sites as judged by BLI. Seven of eightmice died by day 84, with 1 of 8 in remission (FIG. 5D). When a singledose of CY was given after the third dose of LTI, the progression oftumor growth was slowed, but 6 of 8 mice died by day 84 and 1 relapsedat day 98 (FIG. 5E).

Based on the use of CY followed by T cell infusion in the RAG-2^(−/−)experiments described above, a group of mice were treated with LTIfollowed by splenectomy within 24 hours (FIG. 5 F). The splenic T cellswere enriched using an anti-Thy1.2 mAb column, and cryopreserved. Justafter splenectomy, the mice were given a single dose of CY, and 2.5×10⁶T cells were infused i.v. 48 hours later. In this group, 4 of 7 showedno evidence of tumor at days 84 and 98. Survival of the group givenLTI+CY+T cells was significantly increased (p<0.01) as compared to thegroup given LTI+CY without T cells. (FIG. 5 F). Thus, the combination ofLTI, CY, and T cell therapy was more effective than either LTI alone orin combination with CY.

These data show that high dose hypo-fractionated tumor radiation similarto SBRT currently used in humans (see Chang & Timmerman Am. J. Clin.Oncol. 30, 637-644, 2007; Brown & Koong Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol.Phys. 71, 324-325, 2008) can induce complete remissions and potentsystemic immunity that is transferable with T cells. A second goal wasto determine whether T cell therapy can enhance the efficacy ofradiotherapy in the treatment of metastatic tumors. In order to optimizethe therapeutic efficacy of local radiation of large (>1 cm diameter)subcutaneous CT26 colon tumors growing in BALB/c mice, single doses ofradiation targeted to the tumor were escalated from 15 to 30 cGy. At thehighest dose, about 85% of tumor bearing mice developed durable completeremissions for up to 6 months. Almost all mice with complete remissionsfor at least 100 days were protected against a second challenge withCT26 tumor cells on the contralateral flank. Protection after radiationdid not occur immediately, since tumor challenge at a distant site onthe same day as the radiation resulted in progressive growth of allsecond tumors despite the resolution of the primary tumors unless tumorchallenge was delayed for 30 days after radiation. The results indicatethat resolution of the primary tumors is best explained by a combinationof direct cytotoxic effects of radiation on tumor cells and stroma inthe radiation field in combination with the development of systemicimmunity thereafter.

Splenic T cells obtained from mice in complete remission for more than100 days after tumor radiation were able to transfer the anti-tumorimmunity to adoptive hosts that were bearing CT26 tumors. Tumorradiation in T cell depleted wild-type or immunodeficient RAG-2^(−/−)mice failed to induce complete remissions. Surprisingly, intravenousinjection of T cells from normal wild type mice did not restore theefficacy of radiation in RAG-2^(−/−) mice, but the administration of asingle dose of CY after radiation and just before the injection of Tcells resulted in a marked improvement in remissions and survival.Administration of CY kills tumor cells, increases the function ofantigen presenting cells by altering the make up of dendritic cellsubsets, and selectively depletes Treg cells. The combination of LTI,CY, and T cell therapy was effective in preventing widespreaddissemination of tumors in the RAG2^(−/−) mice.

The composition of mononuclear cells that infiltrate the CT26 tumors wasstudied before and after radiation in order to elucidate the mechanismsof immune changes. As in previous studies, there were three importantchanges before radiation in the intratumoral mononuclear cells ascompared to those in the normal spleen; 1) there was an imbalance in thepercentage of monocytic (TAMs) and myeloid (MDSCs) suppressor cellsversus CD8⁺ T cells favoring the suppressor cells, 2) there was animbalance favoring the CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ Treg cells as compared to CD8⁺ Tcells, and 3) the CD8⁺ T cells expressed the PD-1⁺Tim-3⁺ “exhausted”phenotype and the Tregs expressed the activated PD-1⁺ phenotype. Asingle dose of 30 Gy reduced the ratio of TAMs and MDSCs versus CD8⁺ Tcells, and the ratio of Treg versus CD8⁺ T cells. A balance favoringCD8⁺ T cells over suppressor cells correlates with a favorable prognosisin studies of human tumors.

In additional experiments designed to extend the approach to breasttumors, subcutaneous injection of 4T1 tumor cells resulted in localgrowth followed by the development of metastases in the lungs. The 4T1tumors required 3 daily doses of 20 Gy each to reverse primary tumorgrowth, but failed to control metastases. Based on the RAG2^(−/−)results with CT26 tumors, immediately after 4T1 tumor radiation micewere splenectomized and the splenic T cells were harvested andcryopreserved. A single dose of CY was administered thereafter, and thecryopreserved T cells were infused 2 days after the chemotherapy. Thiscombination induced durable complete remissions. Although radiotherapycombined with immunotherapy with anti-CTLA4 antibodies in previousstudies resulted in a significant increase in survival of 4T1 tumorbearing mice as compared to either modality alone, there were no durablecomplete remissions.

In conclusion, the studies show that high dose hypofractionated tumorradiation is able to induce systemic immunity to tumors that istransferable with T cells. The T cell therapy approach effectivelytreated metastatic disease when used in combination with both radiationand chemotherapy. Since all three completions can be applied clinically,a similar combination can be effective in patients with advanced solidtumors.

Materials and Methods

Animals. Wild-type male BALB/c (H-2^(d)) mice, and male BALB/cRAG2^(−/−) mice, were purchased from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor,Me.). Mice were 5-8 weeks old. The Stanford University Committee onAnimal Welfare (Administration Panel of Laboratory Animal Care) approvedall mouse protocols used in this study.

Cell lines. The CT26 cell line (an N-nitro-N-methylurethane-inducedBALB/c murine colon carcinoma) was purchased from ATCC (Manassas, Va.).The 4T1 cell line (spontaneously arising) was also obtained from ATCC.The 4T1—LUC/GFP and CT26—LUC/GFP cell lines were lentiviraly transduced.The lentiviral vector pHR-IG was made by Dr. Yoshitaka Akagi. TheGFP-firefly luciferase fusion (GLF) gene was subcloned from pJW.GFP-yLuc(kindly provided by Dr. M. H. Bachmann) into pHR2 to generate pHR2-GLF.Lentiviral particles expressing GLF were prepared as described before.Briefly, 293T cells were plated in 175 cm² flasks, and the next day,near-confluent cells were co-transfected with 45 μg lentiviral vectortogether with packaging and VSV-G-expressing vectors (3:2:1 ratio) inpresence of 25 μM chloroquine (Sigma). WT 4T1 and CT26 cells were seededin a 6 well plate at 0.25×106 cells/well and incubated overnight in a37° C. incubator. Titrated virus was then used to transduce the celllines in the presence of protamine sulfate (10 μg/ml) to enhancetransduction efficiency. Stable lentiviral transductants were thensorted 4 times for GFP fluorescence (100% purity) using a FACS DIVA cellsorter. Sorted cells were expanded and screened for bioluminescenceusing an Xenogen IVIS spectrum (Caliper Life Sciences; Hopkinton,Mass.), as well as GFP. Cell lines were maintained in RPMI-1640 completemedium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, L-glutamine, 2mercaptoethanol, streptomycin and penicillin.

Vaccination. Tumor vaccination was performed as previously described 33.Five-week-old male BALB/c mice were immunized by subcutaneous injectionof 1×106 irradiated (50 Gy) CT26 cells and 30 μg of CpG. Oligonucleotidecontaining unmethylated CG motifs (CpG) (TCCATGACGTTCCTGACGTT (SEQ IDNO:1)) was synthesized and phosphorothioate-stabilized by Invivogen (SanDiego, Calif.).

Irradiation. Total body irradiation was performed with a Philips X-rayunit (200 kV, 10 mA; Philips Electronic Instruments Inc., Rahway, N.J.)at a rate of 84 cGy/min with a 0.5 mm Cu filter. For local tumorirradiation, unanesthetized mice were placed in lead jigs through whichestablished tumors in the hind quarter were protruded for irradiation toan area of approximately 2 cm diameter. Irradiation was performed with aPhillips X-ray unit operated at 200 kV with the dose rate of 1.21 Gy/min(20 mÅ with added filtration of 0.5 mm copper, the distance from X-raysource to the target of 31 cm, and a half value layer of 1.3 mm copper).

Cell preparation, splenectomy, and collection of T cells for autologoustransplantation. Single cell suspensions of bone marrow and spleen wereprepared according to previously described procedures. Some samples wereenriched either for Thy1.2⁺ cells with anti-Thy1.2-biotin monoclonalantibodies (mAb) (5a-8; Caltag, Burlingame, Calif.) andstreptavidin-magnetic beads (Miltenyi Biotech) respectively using theMidiMACS system (Miltenyi Biotech, Auburn, Calif.). Enriched cells werestained with anti-TCR-allophycocyanin (APC) and anti-CD4 oranti-CD8-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) mAbs to check for purity, andpreparations were uniformly at least 95% pure.

FACS Aria (Becton Dickinson, Mountain View, Calif.) was used foranalysis with FlowJo software (TreeStar, Ashland, Oreg.). After sortingcells were checked by FACS reanalysis and determined to be >99% pure.Collected T cells were cryopreserved with 10% DMSO and frozen in liquidnitrogen. Splenectomy was performed under isoflurane anesthesia. Afterlaparotomy, splenic vessels were ligated, and the spleen was removed.Abdominal wall was closed with single stitches (silk 5-0).Intraperitoneal injection of 500 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide (SigmaAldrich) was performed within 76 hours after splenectomy.

In vivo BLI imaging. In vivo BLI was performed according to the methodof Edinger et al. Briefly, mice were injected intraperitoneally withluciferin (10 μg/g body weight). Ten minutes later, mice were imagedusing an IVIS100 charge-coupled device imaging system (Xenogen) for 5minutes. Imaging data were analyzed and quantified with Living Imagesoftware (Xenogen).

In vivo depletion of T cells. Anti-CD4, anti CD8 monoclonal antibodieswere obtained from Dr. S. Schoenberger, La Jolla Institute for Allergyand Immunology (La Jolla, Calif.). Depletion of CD4 cells in vivo wasperformed by intraperitoneal administration of 150 mg GK1.5 antibody ondays 1,3,5 after irradiation. Mice were depleted of CD8 T cells by i.p.injection of 100 mg of the monoclonal anti-CD8 antibody, 2.43, on days1,3,5 after irradiation.

Rabbit antithymocyte serum (ATS) was purchased from Accurate Chemicaland Scientific (Westbury, N.Y.). BALB/c recipients were injectedintraperitoneally with 0.05 mL of ATS in 0.5 mL saline on days 0, 2 and4 after irradiation.

Histopathology. Animals were euthanized when moribund as per StanfordAnimal Welfare protocol guidelines, or at 100 days after transplantationif they survived without morbidity. Histopathological specimens wereobtained from lungs and livers of hosts. Tissues were fixed in 10%formalin, stained with hematoxylin and eosin and images were obtainedusing an Eclipse E1000M microscope (Nikon, Melville, N.Y., USA) asdescribed before.

Analysis of tumor and spleen mononuclear cells by staining and flowcytometry. Single-cell suspensions were prepared from spleens and tumornodules of BALB/c recipients. The following mAbs were used for flowcytometric analysis: unconjugated anti-CD16/32 (2.4G2 BD Biosciences),anti-CD4-FITC (RM4-5 BD Biosciences), anti-TCR-APC (H57-597 BDBiosciences), anti-CD8-APC-Cy7, (53-6.7 BD Biosciences), anti-PD-1 FITC(29F.1A12, Biolegend), anti-Tim-3 PE (B8.2C12 Biolegend), anti-FoxP 3APC (FJK-16s, eBioscience), anti-Gr-1 PE (RB6-8C5, Biolegend),anti-CD11b FITC (M1/70, Biolegend), anti-CD62L (MEL-14, Biolegend), antiCD44 PerCP-Cy5 (IM-7, eBioscience), anti-Thy1.1PE-Cy7 (HIS51,eBioscience), anti-Thy1.2-biotin (5a-8; Caltag). Streptavidin-PE wasfrom Beckton Dickenson. All stainings were performed in PBS/1% calfserum in the presence of purified anti-CD16/32 mAbs.

Statistical analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated usingPrism software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C.), and statisticaldifferences were analyzed using the log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test.Statistical significance in differences between mean percentages ofcells in spleens and tumors was analyzed using the two-tailed Student'st-test of means.

1-17. (canceled)
 18. A method for treating a cancer in a subject, themethod comprising: a. activating T cells with a high dose of localizedradiation at a tumor site; b. collecting a population of cellscomprising the activated T cells; and c. administering the collectedpopulation of cells to the subject, thereby treating the cancer.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the high dose of localized radiationcomprises a total dose of 20 to 40 Gy.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein the high dose of localized radiation is delivered in a singledose.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the high dose of localizedradiation is delivered in fractionated doses over a period of time ofnot more than one week.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein (a) isperformed over a time period from 2 to 6 weeks.
 23. The method of claim18, further comprising purifying the activated T cells from regulatory Tcells and purge tumor cells in the collected population of cells. 24.The method of claim 18, wherein the collected population of cellscomprises allogeneic cells.
 25. The method of claim 18, wherein thecollected population of cells comprises autologous cells.
 26. The methodof claim 18, wherein the collected population of cells comprises CD34⁺cells.
 27. The method of claim 18, wherein activated T cells comprisesCD8⁺ T cells, wherein the CD8⁺ T cells are activated by the high dose oflocalized radiation at the tumor site to recognize the cancer.
 28. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the collected population of cells comprisesat least 1×10⁶ CD8⁺ T cells.
 29. The method of claim 28, furthercomprising enriching the CD8⁺ T cells from the collected population ofcells.
 30. The method of claim 28, further comprising purifying the CD8⁺T cells from the collected population of cells.
 31. The method of claim18, wherein administering the collected population of cells provides fordurable remission of the cancer.
 32. The method of claim 18, whereinadministering the collected population of cells prevents growth ofmetastases at a site other than the tumor.
 33. The method of claim 18,wherein administering the collected population of cells stimulates animmune system of the subject to target cancer cells.
 34. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the cancer is in an advanced state.
 35. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the cancer is metastatic.
 36. The method of claim 18,wherein the subject has been treated with an effective dose ofchemotherapy prior to administering the collected population of cells.37. The method of claim 36, wherein the effective dose of chemotherapyis a non-myeloablative dose.
 38. The method of claim 36, wherein theeffective dose of chemotherapy is a myeloablative dose.
 39. The methodof claim 18, wherein the cancer is a liver cancer, a lung cancer, abrain cancer, a pancreas cancer, a melanoma cancer, or a breast cancer.40. The method of claim 18, wherein the subject is a mammal.